hi. i wanna be able do to perfect full splits with no problem. i can do full splits with lots of hard warmup and pushing myself down or by squizing my muscle and then go depeer and do that, til i reach the floor. the problem is that i wanna be able to do the splits perfect, just be able to slide into the splits or jump into it. not that i must push myself down or by doing squizes, because you lose patience by that. so atm i do squats for flexibility. i usually do squatz on smith machine, and then i do heavy like 140kg with normal stance, i only go down to 90 degree with knees, not lower. but i did that for legs muscle growth not for flexibility. for flexibility i do deep wide squatz (7 step squats, (thomas kurz) ) i do 50kg on that and my body weight is 80kg. trust me it gets heave when you do them deep. i go little further than 7 step and deeper when i feel i can do that. and i wanna hear your thought, will this be good for flexibility?
Doubt it would help all that much with splits but move away from te smith machine so you can go deeper
Van Zandt recommends deep, wide stance squatting to help with flexibility. Although he may be mentioning muscle strength that is beneficial to flexibility, which requires other flexibility/mobility movements to tap into, but . . . yeah, I unno'. Whenever I'm lifting the first thing I work on is my ability to deep squat comfortably. A couple weeks in I'm ATG no problem, but it's never helped me do a split in my life.
How long have you been able to do splits for? It's usually a couple months (after first being able to do them) that the time it takes to get into them starts to diminish. For wide squats to be effective, you need to be hitting at least your bodyweight on the bar. They're probably the fastest way to do splits, but they're also a religious experience given how much they hurt. Have you tried overhead dumbbell presses in the wide squat? You use the weight to lower your hips closer to the floor in the downwards movement of each rep. Because you can already do splits, you can work them in reverse order - a sort of "side split turkish get-up." Sit in the splits with a dumbbell pressed overhead - keep it there - and walk yourself up out of the split using just your legs. Be sure to repeat with the dumbbell in the other hand. You'll find the speed at which you can slide into the split increases rapidly after each rep (you should be sliding straight down like your feet are on ice after just one set of 10, i.e. 5 on each side).
i been able to do the splits over 1 year, by ballistic strecthes. i push myself down. or by really hard muscle contractions then relax, and go deeper. but im not able to do them perfect, i cant just slide into one with no problem. i mean, i can probly do 180 degree by sitting in v position, but i must force myself, pushing legs backwards with a partner or some other stuffs. atm im doing with 50kg low and deep squats and it isnt easy. the easy part is to go deep and wide down, but the hard part is to get back up after tensing for some secs, and you are about 10cm from ground. doing that exercise with my bodyweight i wouldnt be able to get back up when im really deep and wide down. i mean i almost slide slide my legs apart to 180 degree when im doing this, so it would be dangerous to do with my bodyweight lol. i have done overhead dumbbell pressess(where you press yourself down, while doing shoulder press with dumbbells), i didnt find it so effective as the wide and deep squats. i mean i can go down as deep with dumbbell presses as low wide squat, but i dont feel like i have trained hard enough after the training. i hope you understand what i mean. btw the side split turkish get up is kinda what i get when i do the deep wide squats, cuse im really low and wide down, and i must really push myself to get the weight back up, cuze my legs are so far away from each other. one last question! how am i supposed to go deeper in my squats and wider. cuse i cant turn my foot on the side, i would probly break my foot or really hurt myself. (when ur really down in splits you must turn your foot on the side to be able to get lower, you cant do splits 180 degree with the foot being on the floor)
Is the 7+step good for flexibility, with 50kg squat rack. I get really down, and have hard sometimes to get up.
Don't get caught up with 'x number of steps' wide nonsense. When you can drop your hips below your knees in a wide stance, spread your legs a bit wider and try to do it again. It might help to stick something under your butt to provide an indicator of depth, eg adjustable aerobic step boxes, essentially doing what I call "side split box squats." Try dumbbells, you might find them easier (and safer). And for God's sake, man. Get out of the squat rack if you're not doing normal squats.
I've always found Goblet Squats (basically holding a heavy dumbbell or kettle bell like a goblet with both arms in front of you) to be great for this kind of exercise. It's something I was starting to do before my injury along with overhead squats, and doing it as an isometric really gets a good stretch in. It also helps with balance issues. I'm assuming you can using it to learn splits and strengthen those muscles appropriately, but its' also a great exercise for learning posture for normal squats and to get the mobility/flexibility in the hips, thighs and ankles for the kind of all exercises too.
And they need to change the term of ballistic stretching. It sounds too cool. It should be more like, "don't do this stretching." DDT Stretching, for short. Add another S to the acronym for "stupid."
Goblet squats are actually the starting position I teach to clients who use the squats-to-splits progression I talk about on here. Unweighted, they're a great pre-squat mobilisation exercise, and despite my harking on in the past about how people shouldn't do static stretches before dynamic movements (only because most people will mess it up and blow up their legs), there's really nothing wrong with using the GS as a static stretch before your main squatting work sets. The progression from GS to side splits is really nothing more complicated than staying in the bottom position and walking your feet out to the sides. Interestingly (or not, I might just be a boring git), I commonly use the GS to assess posture and balance in my sports therapy clients.
Ha. Yeah, I once called them ALTP strerches. Dudes I was working with got all excited and asked, "What's that?" I replied, "Avoid Like The Plague." It's a bit like hypermobility, I suppose. Uneducated folk (like 'Murikuhns) think it means they're a mutant, when it really means "Your hips are about to fall out." #Crisco
I do stick a step box under my butt, to see how far from ground i am. How am i suppossed to see progress with dumbells? i used to do dumbells wide squats and overhead squats but i didnt see so good progressions. how am i supposed to do wide n deep squats without squat rack, dumbells wont get me anywhere. Btw i tried bodywight squats as u suggested me, in deep n wide position. I do like 4-6 repitition before my inner thighs n legs get very tired. I cant get back up with that heavy weight n in that deep n wide position. So i just pushed the squat bar vehind my back lol. sometines i get confused with what u really want me to do to see improvements. First u say bodyweight squats now u say dumbells :/
Dumbbells would be used for overhead presses in wide squat, and side split Turkish get-up. It's important that you do overhead presses (where you push the weight overhead and lower it back down to your chest), not overhead squats (where you hold the weight in a static position above your head), because it's the eccentric portion of the movement that assists you in lowering your hips closer to the floor. So when I said "use dumbbells" I was referring to the two movements I mentioned in my earlier post. Is English your first language? And you need to clarify something here. You said you can do a full split. Do you mean front split, side split, or both? If your legs got tired doing 80kg squats, it's either too heavy, or you're too wide, or both. You need to use less weight, or go narrower, or both; then use steady progression until you can do 80kg squats without getting tired (your post made it sound like you jumped straight from 50kg to 80kg in wide squats). If you find all this confusing or too much hard work, just stick to isometrics and you'll get there anyway, albeit much later.
I meant side split. And yes im pretty wide on my stance when i do the squats, thats why i can hardly get back up. As i said before, i used to do overhead presses like thomas kurz in flexibility express. I didnt see so good result by that. I want fast results. But is bodyweight low n wide squats good or bad for flexibility?
I find the low n wide squats better for lowering my hips to the floor. And when i said i can do side split, i dont mean i can jump into one. I must warmup alot n then i have to tense my muscle for at least 1min in split position before i get fully down.
